BASE Achieves TrainingMark Accreditation

The Battersea Academy of Skills Excellence (BASE) has won well-deserved recognition from the Institute of Customer Service (The Institute) for the “My Place, Your World” course undertaken by new employees at Battersea Power Station. This course, designed to inculcate the “one team” ethos and help to make Battersea Power Station the world’s greatest neighbourhood, has now been awarded formal TrainingMark accreditation by The Institute.

The aim of BASE in designing the course was to improve the capability of new colleagues with a programme which will deliver a highly skilled and motivated team across the entire site. BASE strongly believes that this motivation to do the right thing for residents, visitors and fellow workers will contribute to high levels of customer satisfaction, better business performance and a reputation for Battersea Power Station as a great place to live, to run a business, or to visit.

BASE worked with partners Skillsmaze and Accelerator Solution on the design of the “My Place, Your World” course. Over the last year more than 120 new staff have undertaken it, with thousands more set to attend as operations at Battersea Power Station ramp up. Courses run monthly for new employees and this is followed up with a refresher course 3-6 months later. Trainees receive an accredited qualification and membership of the Institute of Customer Service.

The award was presented to Andre Burwood, BASE Programme Director, on 28 September 2017 by ICS representatives.

Jo Causon, Chief Executive of the Institute of Customer Service, commented: “Excellent customer service is something we all demand and something we all expect, yet our research shows that it is not something we all see. Against this backdrop, the Battersea Academy of Skills Excellence is clearly committed to creating an environment where skilled employees are better able to offer the standards of service that will drive their organisation forward.

“With 70 percent of the UK’s working population in a customer-facing role the impact that good service can have on customer retention and repeat purchase should be the number one concern of any Boardroom. Service skills may come naturally for some, but where they are absent, they can be still be learned and it is clear that the Battersea Academy of Skills Excellence realise that by focusing on service skills development they are investing in the long-term stability and future of their organisation.”

Andre Burwood, BASE Programme Director said: “Residents, visitors and commercial tenants are at the heart of our business and they rely on the essential services provided across the whole Battersea Power Station site. It is vital that new colleagues engage with this relationship from day one.

“Gaining this accreditation from the Institute of Customer Service underlines our firm belief that building colleagues’ skills and knowledge is fundamental to excellent customer service.”

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For further media information, photography and b-roll on Battersea Power Station please register at: www.batterseapowerstation.co.uk/media

For further information on BASE, please visit www.baseskillsacademy.co.uk

For enquiries please contact: Press Office, Battersea Power Station Development Company

• Battersea Power Station is one of central London’s largest, most visionary and eagerly anticipated new town centres in which roughly half the development comprises of shops, restaurants and office space – in addition, there will be a six-acre public park, town square and a new tube station (scheduled to be within Zone 1).

• The Battersea Power Station project is 42 acres and includes 3.5m sq ft of mixed commercial space, together with 4,364 new homes.

• The successful regeneration of Battersea Power Station will create 20,000 new jobs, inject £20bn into the UK economy and create a funding mechanism for the first major tube line extension since the Millennium. A new NHS medical facility is also being built.

• The Battersea Power Station Foundation supports local charities and community projects. Over £2.7m has been awarded since it launched in 2016; on average, £207,000 is granted per month and the largest grant awarded was to Battersea Arts Centre for £305,000.

• Circus West Village is the first part of the development. It opened to the public in Spring 2017. Since it opened, over 250,000 people have visited to enjoy the ongoing programme of events.

• Residential handovers have begun in Circus West Village, the first restaurants and shops are now open and there are many more to come. The Village Hall, a new performance space, has opened and a Thames Clippers River Bus service will be in operation from Autumn 2017.

• Battersea Academy of Skills Excellence (BASE), the development company’s bespoke jobs and training service created for those living locally, was launched in 2016. It is focused on matching people with jobs at Battersea as well as providing training relevant to the job pipeline at the development.

• Battersea Power Station is owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors comprising Sime Darby, S P Setia and the Employees’ Provident Fund. Management of the development is being undertaken by British based Battersea Power Station Development Company.

• The Institute of Customer Service is the independent, professional membership body for customer service in the UK. Members from the property sector include The Crown Estate and Cadogan Estates. Redrow Homes are the only other property company to achieve TrainingMark accreditation for their customer service programme.